A/N: /strangles self and makes an odd noise/ bleh, I've re-written this fic sooo many times by now. Each time I'd restart, write like 10k words, and scrape the whole thing! I'm not kidding, I had to label the file for this one the 'LEGIT ONE'. I think I've written 50,000 words of stuff you'll probably never see, unless some of it I can use again...maybe. We'll see, aha. Anyways, this is the reboot of my debut fic on here! It may be slow, and the prologue will most likely be confusing, but hang in there because all will be explained in due time. :D Some of you may remember Alexa, and for those of you who didn't catch the first two chapters of the original fic don't fret, you'll get to know her better next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.

Prologue: Punishment for the Rebellious

"They'll try and make us fall, you know. One by one, or however the hell they want to do it. But we won't. We can't!"

Alexa should've known pissing off Stephanie and Hunter wouldn't be a good idea. She had grown up around them, and had known how they really were. Then again, of course, she was the epitome of 'reckless', a title given to her by her brother.

With a sigh, she pushed her chocolate curls out of her face, tightening the tapes around her hands as she absentmindedly walked around the ring. The crowd buzzed around her, either in worry for her or excitement what what she would do in retaliation. "Well," she began speaking, addressing the crowd. The buzz quieted down, murmurs of conversation dying away as the eager fans awaited what she had to say. "I'm out here, just like The Authority asked for me to be. Though, they're nowhere to be found...proving this all to be a huge waste of time."

She leaned across the ropes, pausing in her calm tirade. The comfort of the white, thick material pushing up against her back through the thin material of her sheer top soothed her slowly frazzling nerves; despite all appearances, she was legitimately worried about how Steph and Hunter were going to punish her. Unfortunately for her, they were two people who knew her incredibly well. "I mean," she continued after a moment. She offered the crowd a shit-eating grin. "All I really did was completely trash the way they've been doing things lately, right? Everyone here knows I could've done much, much worse! That being said, though, they feel the need to 'punish' me for 'stepping out of line' like how they do things in those kinky rated-R movies. I only know this because of my brother."

The crowd cheered at the mention of her brother, the infamous Rated-R Superstar himself Edge. She smiled faintly at their reaction, before sobering up at the remembrance of what was going on. "So, what I'm trying to say in a roundabout way...hurry the hell up and get your asses out here, you two."

The audience roared their approval as she crossed her arms and awaited Hunter and Steph. Her speech was a success soon enough; Hunter's theme song hit, reverberating through the arena. The power couple emerged, Hunter's arm wrapped around Stephanie's waist as they glowered at her from up the ramp. Defiant, she stared right back, a subtle smirk even emerging on her lips.

The crowd's booing increased in volume, coupled with a few 'Yes!' chants and a few, scattered cheers for Alexa's own attitude. Hunter, undeterred, simply held the microphone up to his lips, eyes locking on the Canadian brunette standing in the middle of the ring. "You know, kiddo, we've both known you for...what, 16 or 17 years now? And today was the first time you disappointed us."

She raised an eyebrow at the man, waiting for him to continue. Disappointed him? By doing what, sticking up for what's morally right? "Never would I have thought someone I considered a daughter would turn against us in blind rage," he carried on, free hand waving around in the air. "Funny thing is...what exactly were you mad about, Alexa? You came back, won your title, and have had it since Hell in a Cell!"

He paused, maybe wanting her to answer. Jumping in, Alexa did exactly that. "I don't know if maybe it's because I'm not selfish, but it's not me I'm mad about, Hunter. It's everybody else on the goddamn roster. People that you've forgotten about, people you've robbed, and people you're putting up on a pedestal that don't deserve it while the other, more deserving superstars are grovelling around just for airtime. What part of that is fair?"

"Please," Stephanie McMahon scoffed. "You and I know better than anyone what it takes to make it here, Alexa. We've seen so many come and go, and all those 'other' superstars you're talking about will all fade away soon enough. The WWE Universe is simply going through a phase, cheering on a little troll."

Alexa felt a flash of anger shoot through her at the way the heir to the company spoke about her friend, but she was forced to bite it back as Stephanie kept talking. "All that put aside, that's not why we called you out here. Don't think that, midst all the 'face of the company' action, we forgot about the dying flame that is the diva's division," the older woman smirked at her, sending another streak of anger vibrating through Alexa. Of course she knew about the disaster that was her division; the lack of women who could actually wrestle weighed down on her shoulders heavily. It had been a long, long time since there had been a challenge for her. "We figured that, with all your 'glory' and all, you'd enjoy...a challenge."

Anxious to hear the fate of the young diva, the crowd quieted down considerably, all eyes on the COO of the company and his wife. A soft chuckle left Stephanie's lips, thinking of how much Alexa enjoyed being in the ring. "We know how to hurt you, Alexa, and giving us the chance to do exactly that was a fatal mistake on your part. We'll gladly exploit to our advantage, don't get me wrong; but, out of the goodness of our hearts, we won't do anything...painful."

Brows furrowing, Alexa leaned against the ropes closest to the ramp and stared hard at her boss as she paused for dramatic purposes. Slowly, the duo began walking towards the ring, Stephanie only speaking again when they were both in the ring with Alexa. "We figured you'd, ah...enjoy valeting and managing for a bit. We will not be stripping you of your title, but you will not have any matches unless it is with whoever you are managing."

Her heart hurt at the prospect of not wrestling for god knows how long, but she kept her mouth shut. Wrestling was what she was here to do, and it was what she was good at. Quite frankly, she was starting to feel annoyed at herself for getting herself into such a situation. One slip-up and she was losing so much from it. At least she wasn't losing her coveted title; frowning noticeably, she waited to hear who she was managing. Hunter had turned his head away from her to laugh silently to himself, Steph doing the same albeit straight to Alexa's face.

"You'll be managing them."

Sierra, Hotel, India, Echo, Lima, Delta, Shield.

Her heart dropped into her stomach as she, along with Hunter and Stephanie, watched the three members of the infamous faction The Shield walk down the stairs and through the crowd, throwing off any hands that reached out to touch them. While Roman Reigns, the muscle of the trio, looked solemn for some unknown reason, Dean had a large smirk on his face, Seth wearing a much more subtle one.

Her observant eyes followed their every movement as they each jumped the barricade, hitting the floor smoothly and jumping onto the apron. She even considered just leaving the ring as they stepped in, coming to stand around Hunter and Stephanie. Nothing was worse than having to listen to them gloat about all the superstars they had taken out over the course of their career already, her brother-figure Christian being one of them.

"Any qualms, kiddo?" Hunter's voice was choked, proof that he was trying hard not to laugh. The age-old nickname was said with a tone of sarcasm, used as more of an insult than an affectionate label. Proof of how low the man who, at one point, hated authority figures just as much as she still did had sunk. She crossed her arms across her chest tightly, glaring in disbelief at the man she used to look up to.

"None at all, when do I start?" She shot back, heels pressed firmly into the mat. A tight=lipped smile was thrown in the general direction of the group of five, drawing a few irritated looks and a couple surprised ones.

"Tonig-"

Look into my eyes...what do you see? The cult of personality.

She whipped around as her best friend's music hit, the crowd exploding around them as CM Punk came out, his anger clear even from a distance. She wondered to herself what had held him up for so long, sure that he would've been at the ring even before her to try and diffuse the situation. Skipping his usual entrance antics, the man made his way towards the ring, fists clenched and teeth partially bared. She was only vaguely aware of the three men wearing black stepping in front of her bosses as Punk stepped into the ring, moving over to her and wrapping a protective arm around her waist. The music faded away, leaving the crowd's enthusiastic 'CM Punk' chants to fill the air. It was clear who the members of the WWE Universe were behind, just going by the crowds as of late. He carefully pried the mic away from her, silencing her protests with one look.

"I don't care about the shit you're putting me through as of late," he all but growled, Alexa's hold on his wrist of the arm wrapped around her waist the only thing anchoring him and keeping him from throwing punches. "I've been beaten down by your slave dogs week after week, but I'm still here. I do, however, care when you pull my best friend into this mess."

"Punk, Punk, Punk...I'm getting tired of you sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Alexa had to be punished-"

"Bullshit," Punk interrupted, the crowd behind him. Alexa, however unintentionally, pushed herself further into her friend's hold, letting him tighten his grip on her. He had been her rock for so, so long, and she knew it was bothering him a lot that she was being thrown into the manager role for The Shield. God knows they had no boundaries. "Tonight, you just happened to realize she's a threat to this 'corporate' bullshit. You realized that, with her on the right side, you and Orton can be taken down. And you're trying to silence her by throwing her to the wolves, quite literally."

Punk opened his mouth to continue, but closed it shortly after as Dean Ambrose was handed a mic. The blonde moved closer to the duo his blue eyes running up and down Alexa's body. With a disgusted sound that was caught by the mic, she averted her gaze and instead held Punk tighter, knowing the man was mere seconds away from exploding. "You know wanna know what I find funny, Punk?" the Cincinnati native asked, voice a deep rasp. The US Championship belt was hung around his waist, glinting in the lights. "You call yourself the 'Best in the World' but you can't even properly protect your friends, can you?"

Suddenly, he lunged at the duo, elbowing Punk in the gut and wrenching an unsuspecting Alexa out of his grasp. With a sharp cry of agony, she slammed into the man, limbs flailing as Punk cussed angrily. Her chest hurt from the impact of slamming into Dean, and she was only somewhat aware of the eccentric champion wrapping an arm around her waist; she was too concerned about her friend, who was currently doubled over trying to get air back into his lungs.

"See how useless you are, Punk?" It was a taunt, and a damn good one at that. Alexa could tell Dean knew that Punk couldn't hit him without either injuring Alexa in the process or getting the other members of the faction on his back as well. "I could toss her onto the mat and kiss her senseless, and you couldn't do a damn thing about it."

Before any of them spoke, Daniel Bryan's music hit.

Punk and Alexa shared a look of relief as the last third to their trio came down the ramp; it just meant the numbers were a bit more even. The numbers game had given The Authority the upper-hand too many times in the past, had snuffed too many burning lights. Similar to Punk, Daniel skipped his normal poses, opting to reach them as quickly as possible and stand beside Punk, clasping the man on the shoulder. She offered him a small smile, allowing him to take the mic from her despite Ambrose's hold.

"You know, Hunter," Daniel started, a glare emerging on his face. Immediately, both his friends could hear the hidden anger in his tone, and Alexa could tell he was slightly out of breath, as if he had ran to get to the ring as quickly as possible. Worriedly, she wondered if Steph and Hunter had anticipated the duo of men coming to aid and had thrown something at them to keep them away. "Like Punk said, it's one thing to mess with me, but do not mess with my friends. Leave Alexa out of this."

As Daniel spoke, she began struggling against Dean, only to let out a soft curse once he tightly gripped her by the chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. She couldn't hear anything, or see anything but the eyes of the US Champ roaming her face. "Don't do that, dollface, or I'll have to do something you won't like," he chuckled darkly, eyes melting to a dark cobalt as his eyes fell onto her chest. She hissed angrily and continued her struggle, only ceasing the movements once Seth Rollins clamped a hand down on her shoulder. She had to wait.

"Since both of you are so hellbent on playing the martyr, you can do the same thing in a match tonight," Stephanie step back into the conversation, eyes having watched the interaction between Dean and Alexa. Whether she liked it or not, her consciousness was still playing the mother-figure to the young Canadian woman, as it had for the last 17 years. "A handicap match, against The Shield...with Alexa at ringside. Oh, and just a reminder...Alexa, you must travel and stay with your, ah, clients until we see a reason to pull you away from managing them-"

"Let her go, Ambrose," Punk interrupted, fists clenched and eyes ablaze. He knew there wasn't much he could do about the situation with the managing, aside from helping her make it through. Dean simply laughed, tightening his grip on the brunette and letting his hands roam, daring Punk to do something about it, and that's when Alexa was done playing the damsel in distress.

With an angry snarl, she ripped the mic out of Dean's hands, shocking everybody in the ring save for Daniel and Punk, who either laughed at the faces or smiled in relief. Pulling back as far as she could in Dean's slowly slacking grip, she looked him straight in the eye.

"Something you're all forgetting is why I'm a threat to all your bullshit, let me remind you," she began speaking in a deadly voice, cerulean irises alive. "I am a threat because I can take down people twice-hell, thrice my size. I can be bubbly and full of smiles, sure, but I can also be a downright vicious animal if it's what it takes to survive. And surviving is what I've done for the last 7 years. In short, I am capable. And if you, Ambrose, think for one second I'm just going to let you manhandle me whenever and however you want, you have another thing coming."

With the capacity crowd egging her on, she threw the mic across the ring and kicked the man holding her captive in the knee, sending him to the ground with a pained groan. Following up her release, she sent her knee flying into the side of his head, all the while raising a hand to stop Seth and Roman from advancing. She had had enough of the ridicule that she had been forced to put up with as of late, and with the wandering hands of the man who splayed out on the mat. Leaving Ambrose disoriented and floored, she made her way back to her friends, throwing one, last furious look over her shoulder before following Daniel and Punk out of the ring, the crowd thunderous.

If she had turned back, just once, she would've found the eyes of Dean Ambrose following her with an indescribable look raging deep within his irises.

A/N: Blah, I'm glad I finally uploaded something. The background information for the story will be given next chapter (e.g. more on Alexa's character and more on the plot and what's currently going on). Since it's the prologue, the length was cut down, but I believe the next chapter to be at least 5,000 words long! I'd really appreciate some reviews with feedback, and feel free to guess what's going to happen next. C: